All For Tonight
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day thirty-seven: Emma counsels Tina when Will tells her about her giving up the "tonight" solo to Rachel.


_So the hiatus is over, I did my twenty-one ficlets and all... but I didn't want to stop ;) So I'm not! I want to see how long I can keep this up, one every day, so off we go :)_

_Also, some of them will be series, not related to one another but tied together by a common element. This first series I've called the "Mix Mash" series. I put the names of 18 Glee characters in a box, pulled them out in pairs, some odder than others, to write a ficlet over._

_Today: **Mix Mash 7 of 9: Emma and Tina**_

* * *

**"All For Tonight"  
Emma & Tina**

Emma had been more than happy to step in when Will asked her to talk to one of the Glee kids. When he explained what had happened, with Tina letting go of her solo for the sake of keeping Rachel in the club, she knew why he'd asked her help. She called for Tina to come by her office the next morning.

When Tina knocked at the door, Emma was just finishing her coffee, and she cleaned up before waving Tina in. "Y-you wanted to see me?" Tina stopped just inside the door.

"Come in, sit," Emma indicated the chair before her desk. Tina came up to sit, still looking nervous about being there. "Do you know why you're here?" Emma asked. Tina shook her head. "Right," Emma nodded. "W… Mr. Schuester told me about your solo." Tina's head nodded before bowing forth. "He said you were really good," Emma tried to get Tina to meet her eyes. After a moment, Tina looked back at her. "He also said you were going to let Rachel have the solo."

"She'll l-leave the club if sh-she doesn't…" she shook her head.

"It's just one song," Emma tried to reason.

"It's m-more than that…" Tina started. "It's hard t-to explain, she…"

"She is an excuse," Emma spoke up. "I know, you're shy. Anyone who'd maintain a stutter when they can speak fine has to have some…" Tina looked up at her.

"I-I'm not…" Emma shook her head.

"I won't tell anyone, no need to worry about your secret being let out. But I know you don't have a stutter, I can tell." There was hesitation; Tina didn't want to let go of her secret. After a moment, she sighed, sitting back.

"You won't tell?" Emma shook her head. "Not even Mr. Schuester?" Again, Emma shook her head. Another moment, another nod… "Ok."

"What's the song?" Emma asked.

"Tonight," Tina smiled slowly. "From West Side Story." Emma's face became filled with wonder.

"I love that song," she shared.

"Yeah, me too," Tina's smile grew.

"How'd you feel about singing it?" Emma went on. Tina's smile had grasped her now, and it wasn't letting go so easy… neither was the doubt.

"Rachel…"

"Forget Rachel, okay? This is about you, Tina. You're as much a part of this as she is, as any of you guys are." Tina managed to nod, if shakily so. "Let me ask you this… Why did you join Glee Club?" Tina thought about it only a beat.

"I love to sing," she let out a breath. Emma smiled.

"Then sing it. Take your solo, and give it all you've got. Mr. Schuester gave it to you, not Rachel. She's a big girl… a little forceful, but a big girl. She'll get over it. You're not condemning the club by going after what's yours, what you want."

"But isn't that what she's doing?" Tina pointed out with a frown.

"She thinks it's already hers, without a question," Emma pointed right back. "If you ask me, you'd be helping her as much as you'd be helping yourself." This seemed to please Tina.

"Maybe," she smiled. "I still need a lot of practice though… and I already told Mr. Schuester to give it to Rachel." Emma nodded, holding her hand up to stop her.

"You leave Mr. Schuester up to me. As for practicing, well that's easy."

"I don't know that I'll be able to get in, I… I can't do it at home," she explained.

"If all that's standing between you and practicing is a key," she reached into her bag for a key chain, which she held up for Tina to see. The conclusion made her pause.

"Now?" she hesitated. Emma nodded. Tina considered it for a moment.

"The less time you wait the better," she assured her. Tina's face shifted to an air of brand new courage.

"Now," she repeated in the affirmative. Emma nodded, smiling approvingly. Tina thought about something. "Can you come?" Emma smiled, touched.

"Let's go," she stood. As they made their way to the auditorium, Emma looked to Tina. "How did it go the last time you rehearsed it, with Mr. Schuester?"

"Mostly okay," she shrugged. "The end wasn't good though. I missed it completely…"

"What happened?" Emma asked.

"I got scared, I guess. I thought… 'She would do it so much better than me,'" she admitted nervously.

"Okay, well it's like I said, just forget about her and remember what it is that made you join in the first place," she placed her hand over her heart. Tina beamed, nodded.

"I'll give it a shot."

"That's it," Emma nodded.

As they reached the auditorium, Emma reached for the door, which was indeed still locked. She reached for the key and got the door open. She ushered Tina in, not leaving chance for nerves to seize her up again when she was finally untangled from them.

Tina went up on the stage, while Emma moved to sit in the front row. Suddenly, Tina paused. "Wait…" Emma turned, came to stand at the stage's edge.

"What's wrong?" Tina stepped up, crouching to get closer to Emma's line of sight.

"What about the music?" Emma couldn't believe she'd forgotten that part.

"Well, are you able to do it without the music, just you?"

"Sure," Tina nodded. "But you…"

"Don't worry about me, just go for it," Emma nodded. Tina returned the gesture before standing up on her feet, stalking back to center stage while Emma moved down to take her seat.

Tina seemed to be waiting, so she gave her a signal to go ahead. She stood there a moment, letting the notes start to play in her mind. Her head followed the silent melody until she'd finally reached the point to start singing.

As she did, she took Emma's words to heart. She pushed aside all things from her mind but the song and the aspirations that had driven her to where she was.

Whether or not she was there because of Will's request, seeing Tina on stage after their talk… It reminded her of everything that made her want to be there, to be helping these kids… and she loved helping with Glee.

When Tina was reaching the end of the song, Emma was nodding along, waiting on the 'problem note.' She could see a flicker of anxiety in Tina's eyes, knowing it was coming too.

The song ended and Tina carried it off. She was smiling, beaming. Emma stood, giving her a few claps.

"Should I say it?" Emma spoke up. Tina raised a brow, confused. "Told you that you could do it," she bowed her head.

"Love that song," Tina grinned.

"Me too," Emma smiled. "I should get back to work, but you stay and practice as long as you need, just… don't be late for class." Tina nodded. "Good job."

THE END


End file.
